Wednesday 24 April 2019 18:56, UK
Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start to defeat Leonardo Mayer in three sets and advance to the third round of the Barcelona Open.
Nadal was coming off a heavy defeat in the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, when he was convincingly beaten by Fabio Fognini.
But he made it 16 consecutive wins in Barcelona after recovering to win 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2 and set up an all-Spanish encounter against four-time finalist David Ferrer.
"It wasn't the best start. Not the best feelings out there this afternoon, but I found a way to keep going and to win the match. Today that's the main thing," Nadal said.
"(Leonardo) competes well against everybody but probably today (the problem) was not that he competed very well against me. I was not competing that well."
The top-seeded Nadal squandered two set points after exchanging breaks late in the first set.
He rebounded quickly by breaking Mayer's serve in the first game of the second set, then cruised to victory against the 63rd-ranked Argentine.
Ferrer, 37, came through after he cruised to victory against Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-3 6-1.
Lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena beat compatriot Nicola Kuhn in three sets after Fognini withdrew from the tournament following injury concerns after practising earlier in the day.
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